The Freedom to Marry an Issue in Hawaii Gov. Race

October 04, 2010

Posted on advocate.com:

"Republican James 'Duke' Aiona said if he wins the
gubernatorial election, he will propose a constitutional amendment in
2012 to ask voters whether marriage should be defined as between a man
and a woman.

"Neil
Abercrombie, the Democratic candidate, said if he becomes governor, he
will sign a civil unions bill into law if passed again by the state
Legislature...

"The
divide over civil unions is among the widest between the two major
candidates for governor, and their views provide some insight about how
they would handle emotion-laden social policy questions if elected.

"Aiona equates civil unions with marriage for same-sex couples.
He does not consider marriage a civil right, so he is comfortable
putting the question on the ballot.

"He [Aiona] says the state could expand a reciprocal beneficiaries law to address any inequality for same-sex couples.

"Abercrombie sees civil unions as separate from marriage equality.

"'It's
a civil rights bill [a civil unions bill passed by the Legislature this year but vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle] that affected everybody equally regardless of their
gender, regardless of their sexual orientation. It was a bill about
civil rights and responsibilities under the Constitution, and did not
constitute -- in my judgment -- anything approaching a revision or
recalculation or redefinition of marriage,' he said of the bill, which
would have applied to both same-sex and heterosexual couples.

... "...He [Abercrombie] said his views are that people should be entitled 'to make any arrangement they want with their lives.'

"Lawmakers would likely move a civil unions bill with a majority if
Abercrombie is governor, since he says he would sign it into law, but
would likely want a two-thirds' vote necessary to override a veto under
Aiona. The House fell short of a veto-proof vote this year.

Freedom to Marry was the campaign to win marriage nationwide. With the Supreme Court victory on June 26, 2015, the work of this strategic campaign – though not the larger movement – was achieved, and Freedom to Marry wound down its operations, closing in early 2016. For inquiries, please email legacy@freedomtomarry.org.